We are non typical , $500 a year for wood pellets and 120 a month for electricity in an all electric Superinsulated home at 9052' in the Rockies.
No A/C , right now the temps. are 73.2 outside and 72.3 inside.
Anyone have solar?
- Thread starter Zorba
- Start date
We are non typical , $500 a year for wood pellets and 120 a month for electricity in an all electric Superinsulated home at 9052' in the Rockies.
No A/C , right now the temps. are 73.2 outside and 72.3 inside.
Do you think the humidity plays a difference versus the dryness of the west?
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
Good lord…thats high
How big is the house??
Solar MAY be a good option for you to investigate to mitigate the robbery of New Moscow
I have solar, system was installed 4 years ago. I’ve not seen anyone mention federal tax credits (FTC) on the cost of the system, which I believe is now 30%. Plus I received about 25% of the system cost in a rebate known as SREC’s, Solar Rebate Energy Credits. Between the FTC and the SREC, 2/3 of the cost of my system was paid for, bringing my net cost down from $48k to about $18k. 4 years ago, I was paying about $275 a month in electric bills. Rates have increased substantially since then, but I pay $14 a month, which is the cost to be hooked to my local utility. I paid cash, but I feel like I’m money ahead already. I have a 25 year, 91% degradation warranty backed by Panasonic, and since my wife and I are in our 60’s, that suits us well. I don’t have batteries, can’t get that to make sense financially, and I will only consider them as I lose faith in the grid. So put me in the pro-solar camp. I didn’t install my system to save the world, I did it because it made sense financially. I found an installer I trusted and my roof will blow off before the panels come loose. Don’t base your decision on one persons bad experience. My wife and I agree it’s one of the best financial decisions we ever made. As for insurance, I’m an agent, I increased the coverage on my house by $50k, so it is costing me maybe another $100 annually.
KennethS
TJ Enthusiast
How do you pay only the line connection fee? Do you not use electricity at night?
2100 sq' $57K for a 30% reduction in electric is a no go. I won't be in the house for that payout.
My meter spins backwards during the day and forward at night. The goal is to have a system that spins backwards just a little bit more than it spins forward.
KennethS
TJ Enthusiast
It has to spin enough to compensate for the wholesale rate they pay you vs retail rate they charge you.
To further explain how it works, my monthly excess production goes into a “bank”. For example, in August, I may produce $400 worth of electricity, but only use $300, so my bill shows my bank at +$100. When we get to December I may only produce $100 worth, but use $150, so it will pull $50 from my bank and my out of pocket expense will still only be my $14 monthly charge to be hooked to the grid. This year, when we got to the point where my production was decreasing to my usage amount, I had a little over $400 in my bank to get me through the winter. Should be about perfect. So I don’t get paid for excess production, I get credit for it.
When the power grid fails, my system shuts down to prevent back feeding the lines. This is another disadvantage to not having batteries. Luckily, we rarely lose power.
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
Think about where it goes…..
Typically on the roof
Any rodent chews, ya got a fire hazard on the roof
Any strikes from hail, easily damages the panels
Any high winds and a poor install, goes flying at other houses
Any roof repairs needed, gotta get a qualified person to disable and uninstall/reinstall
Theres ALOT of things people dont think about
I have every intention of building my own system
……on the ground. I have the property for it
CreepinDeth
TJ Addict
I have not done a Solar install personally
However there is usually an ATS for a generator to detect a loss of voltage and flop to the alternate source. I could not confirm exactly how they do it all with Solar as Ive not done a system
Yes typically it is a source, and it backfeeds to grid UNLESS someone gets something like a Tesla PowerWall battery bank setup. Then that takes the charging, and the home pulls from that
So I can only speculate there must be a certain voltage to keep the Generator from being turned on
If we're going to build them, I don't understand why we're not building them as carports. And for businesses with parking lots, there are acres of currently single use property available.
It has nothing to do with possibility of future claims or the perceived increased liability. Insurance is based on replacement cost. When you add a $50k system to your home, you’ve increased the replacement cost, so your insurance needs to reflect that. I increased my insurance on my home from $350k to $400k after the installation, which increased my premium.
Further, in Illinois anyway, the tax assessment is not allowed to increase on my home based on my solar addition. So even though my home has now increased in value because it has a solar installation, my real estate taxes did not increase.
Genuine question here, do you have proof of this claim via 3rd party appraisal? I work within the real estate industry, I've heard this claim quite a bit, almost exclusively from homeowners who heard it from the solar salesman, who provided zero market based proof. My market does not currently recognize any value for solar panels.
I live in Illinois. We are a deep blue state (thanks to Chicago). Our government hates fossil fuels. They are not going to do anything that would discourage investment in alternative energy. I’m not the least bit concerned about them changing the IL RE tax laws to tax solar installations.
Well, I’m an insurance agent, and if I had to rebuild my home after a total loss, I have to rebuild the solar installation too. Remember, insurance is based on REPLACEMENT cost, not MARKET VALUE, and that is the key.
Also, consider this. Most of the homes in my neighborhood are of similar size and floor plan. You are a buyer looking at 2 homes. One of them has is a conventional home and pays about $400 a month for electricity in our market. The other has a solar installation and the electric cost is $14 a month. Which one is more marketable, and in turn, will bring a higher price?
I didn’t install my solar to save the world or make my house more valuable. Those were just extras that came with the install. I did it because it made financial sense and it has been a great investment.